Abu Nechim, a fast bowler who swings the ball both ways with good pace, began his career at the Under-19 level in September 2005. Three months later, he made his first-class debut for Assam at the age of 17. In February 2006, Nechim helped India decimate England in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final, with figures of 4 for 14 in a lethal display of swing bowling under the Premadasa floodlights. He signed off from the Under-19 stage with match-winning returns of 6 for 9 in the final of a tri-nation series against Bangladesh.

His List-A and T20 debuts came in 2007, two weeks apart. In the same year, Nechim signed up for the ICL and went on to represent Kolkata Tigers, Royal Bengal Tigers and the India Cricket XI in the now-defunct league. Nechim played for Mumbai Indians for four seasons from 2010 before making the switch to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014. He was retained by the franchise before the 2016 IPL auction. ESPNcricinfo staff